Judge finds probable cause in Hagerstown stabbing case

January 23, 2008|By HEATHER KEELS

The state may proceed with charges against a homeless Hagerstown man accused of stabbing another man 14 times with a pocketknife during a scuffle Dec. 24, a Washington County District Court judge said Tuesday.

Kevin Duane Walker, 51, of no known address, has been charged with attempted second-degree murder, a felony punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment, according to court records.

Walker also has been charged with first- and second-degree assault and carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure, according to court records.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Judge Ralph H. France II found there was probable cause for the charges to be sent to Washington County Circuit Court.

Advertisement

Walker told police he had been staying with the victim, Randy Green, for a few days at Green's home on Elizabeth Street, Hagerstown Police Officer Clifton S. Briggs said at the hearing. Walker said the night of the incident, Green came home drunk about 2 a.m. and told Walker he had to leave, Briggs said.

Walker told police that Green swing a baseball bat at his head and the two began to wrestle, at which time Walker picked up a pocketknife and stabbed Green, Briggs said.

When Briggs arrived, Green was on the porch in a blood-soaked T-shirt, Briggs said.

"I don't know what body part it is, but there was a body part hanging out of one of the cuts," Briggs said.

Hagerstown Police Officer Chris Barnett, who went with Green to the hospital, took photos of Green's injuries, which included six cuts on his chest and stomach, seven cuts on his arm and a long slash on his right leg, Briggs said. Several of the cuts were deep, Briggs said.

Walker had cuts on his right index finger and thumb, and a blood-stained pocketknife was found on the ground outside, Briggs said. A baseball bat with blood spotting on it also was found at the scene, but Walker had no injuries other than the cuts on his hand, Briggs said.

France set Walker's bond at $75,000 Tuesday. Previously, Walker had been held without bond, according to court records.